--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The artist isn't particularly keen on…" description: "\"The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing done, as you call it. He gets his pleasure out of doing it, playing with it, fooling with it, if ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/william-mcfee-20867_art_the-artist-isn-t-particularly-keen-on-ge_1696386.jpg" --- # The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing… ![“The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing done, as you call it. He gets his pleasure out of doing it, playing with it, fooling with it, if you like. The mere completion of it is an incident.” quote by William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/william-mcfee-20867_art_the-artist-isn-t-particularly-keen-on-ge_1696386.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/william-mcfee-20867_art_the-artist-isn-t-particularly-keen-on-ge_1696386.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/william-mcfee-20867_art_the-artist-isn-t-particularly-keen-on-ge_1696386.jpg) > “The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing done, as you call it. He gets his pleasure out of doing it, playing with it, fooling with it, if you like. The mere completion of it is an incident.” [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist values the act of creation over the finished product, finding joy in exploration and play. **In simple terms:** Artists enjoy making, not just finishing. Key Takeaway Embrace the process, not just the outcome. Themes creativity process play joy artistic mindset Mood playful inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - music composition - design projects Key Concepts Flow theory aesthetic experience mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What part of your creative process brings you the most joy? - How can you balance play with productivity? A Different Perspective Focusing only on process can delay completion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/pride-gets-no-pleasure-out-of-having-something-only-out-of-having-2/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A GUY WHO FUCKS A GIRL GETS THE BEST PLEASURE OF LIFE ONLY FOR ONCE, A GUY WHO IS A MALE ESCORT GETS MORE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feminist/a-guy-who-fucks-a-girl-gets-the-best-pleasure-of-life-only-for-once-a/) Feminist > [The average man does not get pleasure out of an idea because he thinks it is true; he thinks it is true because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-average-man-does-not-get-pleasure-out-of-an-idea-because-he/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Being an artist isn't a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It's an attitude we can all adopt. It's a hunger to seize new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/being-an-artist-isn-t-a-genetic-disposition-or-a-specific-talent-it-s/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't know who made up this sort of greatest-hits list for artists. If one artist isn't moving forward anymore, then it's assumed another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-don-t-know-who-made-up-this-sort-of-greatest-hits-list-for-artists/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-rivera/an-artist-is-above-all-a-human-being-profoundly-human-to-the-core-if/) [Diego Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-rivera/) > [I'd much rather be called a champagne socialist than be an artist that isn't talking about the most pressing issue on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-d-much-rather-be-called-a-champagne-socialist-than-be-an-artist/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I'm trying to be an activist, and I think of that as separate from my work as an artist. But it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-trying-to-be-an-activist-and-i-think-of-that-as-separate-from-my/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [As struggles go, being an artist isn't that much of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/as-struggles-go-being-an-artist-isn-t-that-much-of-one/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I always want to be the best at what I do. As a kid, whatever I was doing, if I was playing football or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/i-always-want-to-be-the-best-at-what-i-do-as-a-kid-whatever-i-was/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [I've been doing this playing basketball forever. It's always going to be a part of me. I know that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-young/i-ve-been-doing-this-playing-basketball-forever-it-s-always-going-to/) [Nick Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-young/) > [I want to do this for a long time; I want people to be saying, 'What is he doing still playing in clubs?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-swindell/i-want-to-do-this-for-a-long-time-i-want-people-to-be-saying-what-is/) [Cole Swindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-swindell/) > [It's the same thing I have been doing since I was 5, playing the game of football. Going out there when my number is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-donald/it-s-the-same-thing-i-have-been-doing-since-i-was-5-playing-the-game/) [Aaron Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-donald/) > [When you're playing someone that's real, there is that hanging weight of how will they feel when they see this: will I make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-boynton/when-you-re-playing-someone-that-s-real-there-is-that-hanging-weight/) [Lucy Boynton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-boynton/) > [When you think someone really has the upper hand, you realize that someone has been played the entire time, and there's a whole other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-smith/when-you-think-someone-really-has-the-upper-hand-you-realize-that/) [Brian J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-smith/) ## More by William McFee > [Responsibility's like a string we can only see the middle of. Both ends are out of sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/responsibility-s-like-a-string-we-can-only-see-the-middle-of-both/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [Woman dwell always in the palace of unpalatable truth and never by any chance is there a magic talisman to save them from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/woman-dwell-always-in-the-palace-of-unpalatable-truth-and-never-by/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [There is far too much talk of love and grief benumbing the faculties, turning the hair gray, and destroying a man's interest in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/there-is-far-too-much-talk-of-love-and-grief-benumbing-the-faculties/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [It is so much easier to tell intimate things in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/it-is-so-much-easier-to-tell-intimate-things-in-the-dark/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right, writes no guarantee against misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/people-don-t-ever-seem-to-realize-that-doing-what-s-right-writes-no/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [“People don't seem to realize that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/people-don-t-seem-to-realize-that-doing-what-s-right-is-no-guarantee/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [An Englishman never takes his collar off when he is writing. How can you expect him to show you his soul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/an-englishman-never-takes-his-collar-off-when-he-is-writing-how-can/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [The world belongs to the Enthusiast who keeps cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/the-world-belongs-to-the-enthusiast-who-keeps-cool/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [A trouble is a trouble, and the general idea, in the country, is to treat it as such, rather than to snatch the knotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/a-trouble-is-a-trouble-and-the-general-idea-in-the-country-is-to/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [It may be that, while we plodding realists go on, for ever preoccupied with our daily chores, abstracting a microscopic pleasure from each microscopic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/it-may-be-that-while-we-plodding-realists-go-on-for-ever-preoccupied/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/people-don-t-ever-seem-to-realize-that-doing-what-s-right-is-no/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [Fear, born of that stern matron, Responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/fear-born-of-that-stern-matron-responsibility/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [A young man must let his ideas grow, not be continually rooting them up to see yow they are getting on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/a-young-man-must-let-his-ideas-grow-not-be-continually-rooting-them/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [The artist in his teens who is happy is a charlatan. Life comes bursting in all around lis too suddenly, too crudely, too cruelly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/the-artist-in-his-teens-who-is-happy-is-a-charlatan-life-comes/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, who often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted-it-is-the-deserting-male-the/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) [Explore all 30 William McFee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The artist isn't particularly keen on getting a thing done, as you call it. 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